Albania Growing as a Potential Superyacht Destination: Albania is not normally thought of as a superyacht destination, but more yachts are visiting the country every year. The country has been called the next Montenegro because of its location and unspoiled beauty.

In the last three years, Albania has become popular with superyachts as an alternative to Montenegro for EU clearance and duty-free fuel. Albania also has UNESCO World Heritage sites in addition to gorgeous scenery, so the country is being noticed more and more by superyacht guests. Numbers have increased yearly with authorities indicated that 1007 have visited Saranda Port in 2018 compared to 842 the previous year. More than 500 superyachts over 30 meters are estimated to have visited Albania in 2018, with about 95% visiting solely for bunkering and the other 5% visiting for tourism.

Another advantage of visiting Albania is that the country’s legislation allows for yachts to start a charter there without having a tax representative or charging a tax on the charter.

Although yachts can anchor along Albania’s cost and several commercial ports are available, Albania doesn’t have any yacht marina. Albania has four ports with Durres and Saranda having the biggest yacht traffic. Durres is the most important port in Albania and has the large volume of goods. It’s well organized with a professional administration and is an appealing port for superyachts.

Further south, Saranda is designed for cruises and passenger ferries. Superyachts can also berth her and the port has recently built a dedicated superyacht jetty for bunkering and for yachts that need to pick up and drop off charters.

The absence of a superyacht marine in Albania is about to changes as Swiss development company Finsec AG is building a luxury marina complex, Porto Albania, on the Kalaja e Turres peninsula, an hour away from Tirana International Airport. Porto Albania will offer berthing for yachts up to 70 meters, with about 20 to 40 berths for yachts over 30 meters, along with a dedicated maintenance facility, residential complex and retail stores.

Providing yacht maintenance support will be an important part of the development. A travel lift will service yachts up to 25 meters, but services will be offered to larger yachts in the water.

The project will be built in stages, with completion for the marina and service area slated for the first half of 2021. Completion of the real estate area is scheduled for 2023 and will include dedicated serviced apartments for yacht crew. Long-term leases will be available on an annual, 10-year- or 20-year basis. The marina will also be able to supply duty-free fuel and act as a point of entry.